1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an inflatable device for assisting in raising a seated person to a standing position and more particularly pertains to assisting people who are seated in elevating themselves through a pneumatic device to raise the person toward a standing position with decreased physical effort.
2. Description of the Prior Art
The use of seats and inflatable devices of a wide variety of designs and configurations is known in the prior art. More specifically, seats and inflatable devices of a wide variety of designs and configurations heretofore devised and utilized for the purpose of providing comfort and assistance to people with decreased physical capabilities by a wide variety of methods and apparatuses are known to consist basically of familiar, expected and obvious structural configurations, notwithstanding the myriad of designs encompassed by the crowded prior art which have been developed for the fulfillment of countless objectives and requirements.
By way of example, the prior art in U.S. Pat. No. 4,190,286 to Bentley discloses an inflatable seat cushion and body support assembly.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,592,589 to Hellwig discloses an inflatable-inflated cushion for seat.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,619,481 to Grudzinskas discloses an inflatable seat cushion assembly.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,789,202 to Alter discloses an inflatable seat cushion.
Lastly, U.S. Pat. No. 5,163,737 to Navach discloses a cushion.
In this respect, the inflatable device for assisting in rasing a seated person to a standing position according to the present invention substantially departs from the conventional concepts and designs of the prior art, and in so doing provides an apparatus primarily developed for the purpose of assisting people who are seated in elevating themselves through a pneumatic device to raise the person toward a standing position with decreased physical effort.
Therefore, it can be appreciated that there exists a continuing need for a new and improved inflatable device for assisting in raising a seated person to a standing position which can be used for assisting people who are seated in elevating themselves through a pneumatic device to raise the person toward a standing position with decreased physical effort. In this regard, the present invention substantially fulfills this need.